Abandoned
by The Aurum Writers
Summary: Platinum: I wrote this by myself! It's for Out of the Dust but that isn't a category. You know how Billie meets that homeless guy who abandoned his family? Well, my main character is that guy's daughter! This is her life I guess. This was originally my project for English but my friends told me to post it here!


**A/N: Platinum: Hey, I forgot to mention. This is a one-shot, written by just me. I will not be continuing this! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Out Of The Dust. It belongs to Karen Hesse! Although I only used the plotline and like two characters!**

* * *

Esperanza sighed, gazing out a window, watching farmers in the distance in the fields. She really didn't expect this to happen. She thought that they could pull through and stay together until the end. But, apparently that wasn't possible. Now, her whole family was going to starve without him, without her father.

Esperanza gave the window one last glance before hopping off the windowsill. She dusted off her dress, and walked into the kitchen where her mother was.

Mother was at the stove; boiling what little crop they had left into stew. Esperanza could see bags under her mother's eyes and tear marks running down her cheeks. She must've have been crying in the shed while we were gone, Esperanza thought. It wasn't a surprise, her mother had been doing this almost everyday since her father left. The shock and heartbreak hadn't gone away yet. It hadn't either for Esperanza.

"Mother, the others and I are going to the trade center. Could we look around for anything that we don't need that we could trade for? Do you have any ideas?" She asked. Esperanza knew that she was taking a risk. Mother hadn't spoken for a while, even so, she only could give a nod of confirmation.

Surprising Esperanza, her mother spoke. "Yes," She said in a raspy voice, as if she hadn't spoken in forever, which was almost true. "There are old items in the shed, others unused. Look around there, and don't take any risks at the trade center. Bargain well." How ironic that sounded, the shed was where Esperanza's mother was always locking herself in to cry over the loss of their father. And yet here she was telling them that they should search there first.

"Very well, we'll return later before sunset to eat." Esperanza said, then stopped at the door. She thought for a second, _but wait_. "Mother, are we going to have to ask the neighbors if we could loan crops if we don't get any food from the trade?" While Esperanza said that, she was thinking in her mind. _Will we have to starve again? _She let that unspoken question linger in her head, waiting for an answer from her mother.

Her mother paused for a minute, trying to thinking of an answer that wouldn't upset her daughter. "…No…No, we won't be asking them for crops." Seeing her daughter's eyes narrow in slight anger, she quickly spoke. "I'm sure you all will get some food from the market. In fact, I know someone who may be able to trade baby accessories for fresh meat. He and his wife are expecting children and want to prepare."

Esperanza knew what her mother said had meant. With the amount of children in their family, _seven_ kids, they had a lot of baby clothes and others to spare. It was just luck that there was someone who needed that and would be willing to trade food for them. So Esperanza nodded to her mother. Then she looked back out the door, "Thank you, and goodbye."

Her mother didn't say anything but nodded towards her. Esperanza exited the door to outside and headed down towards the town square where the rest of her family was waiting for her.

* * *

Along the way, Esperanza couldn't help but think. Why did her mother decide to speak to her when she hadn't before? What changed in her to respond when there were more important times she could've talked to them? Esperanza couldn't help but hold some resent towards her mother. If she was talking before, she could've been there with the rest of their family comforting them. Some of them were young; they wouldn't understand why their father would leave them. So that left Esperanza to comfort them and try to explain to them the situation the best she could. After all, she was the eldest now.

Esperanza used to have an elder brother, named Marcus. He was like a dream brother, and the dream child all parents wished to have. He was kind and caring, good with the kids, perfect grades, and polite. They were all traits that her brother had. Which made it extremely painful for her and the rest of the family when he died.

Marcus' death wasn't of tragedy, more of natural causes. Dust pneumonia, it killed so many, so many children, even the adults. Esperanza and the rest of her family were horror-stricken when they found out about his sickness. Marcus was already out of school, going to college like every parent dreamed of for their children.

When her family had been contacted about this, it was already too late for them to reach Marcus. His college was too far way for them to reach him in a week. His condition had already grown worse. As the letter they had received from a doctor in Marcus' campus said, there was nothing they could do to save him. So, he passed away two weeks later.

Back when that happened, her family was whole. Her father was still there, smiling and happy. And Mother, her wrinkles were gone and she was beautiful. It was heaven compared to now.

Sniffling, Esperanza wiped a stray tear off her cheek. Thinking of Marcus and her father always brought tears to her eyes.

_Get yourself together!_ She scolded herself. _You need to act strong in front of your family, be the brave one. Be the role model._

But that was just it. Esperanza wasn't the strong one, not brave either. It was always her brother, Marcus.

She choked down a sob, tears gathering on her eyes. She remembered to be the role model for her family. Act strong and brave, while be crying in the inside, wishing to not be the center of attention.

As Esperanza pulled herself together, she could see the town square in the distance. She steeled herself as walked towards her family, throwing on a fake smile on her face.

"Mother said that we should check the shed for old baby clothes. She knows someone who would trade meat for them." Esperanza said. She could see her family whispering among themselves. Apparently they caught on to the fact that Mother wasn't speaking and were surprised.

One of her sisters, Amelia, turned away from the group and cleared her throat. "Um, Esper," Nostalgia went through Esperanza; "Esper" was what her family called her. It was her nickname, and she missed it. "Did Mother say anything else?"

"Yes. She said to be careful and not take risks with our bargains." Esperanza said, not wanting to tell them about what she said to their mother.

"Is that all?" Amelia asked. She clearly knew that Esperanza was hiding something from them all, something she didn't want to say. Esperanza inwardly sighed, why did her sister have to be so curious?

Looking at the rest of her family, she could see that the others were also curious as to what Mother said. Esperanza didn't want to crush their hope, but she didn't want to discourage them by telling them about her conversation. "Yes." She said carefully, watching their expressions. Their expressions became sadder, hope slowly disappearing from their eyes.

Esperanza quickly changed the subject, "Hey, why don't we go to the shed now? We can go sort for those clothes so we can finally have something fresh to eat!"

Her declaration seemed to lighten their spirits. Only then, she realized. _Wow, we really haven't had anything good to eat in a while._

* * *

"Mother, we're home!" Esperanza yelled. Carrying a bag of fresh meat and other trade items. She looked around for her mother, and then she spotted her in the kitchen. "Mother, we brought meat, beef, are you going to cook beef stew?"

Mother was sitting in a chair, waiting for Esperanza to come in. "Yes, could you set the meat on the counter and set the table, Esperanza?" Her words shocked Esperanza; she hadn't called her by her name in a while. She gave her mother a genuine smile and set the meat on the counter and started to set the table for dinner.

* * *

The next morning Esperanza didn't have anything to do. She decided to go back to her windowsill and think about what happened.

She and her mother were growing closer again. That was good. She was beginning to forgive her for not speaking to them and not being there when they needed her. Although, she didn't think she'd ever forgive her father.

She could still remember that day…

* * *

Esperanza's mother and father were arguing again, over their supply of food and harvest. She couldn't really hear what they were saying, just muffled speech.

Esperanza heard her father shout, "I'm tired of this! I can't take it anymore! They baby crying all the time…"

"You've dealt with it all this time! Why can't you now!" Her mother yelled back. It was scary for Esperanza to hear her parents fight and yell. Especially her mother, she usually spoke with a soft voice, not the harsh tone she was hearing.

"Now you're yelling at me! I can't make the crops grow by magic! There's a drought, I can't grow anything without water…" Esperanza's father spoke trailing off, any hope in his eyes disappeared. "I can't deal with a family to take of."

"Then leave." Mother said, with harsh words.

Father left, walking out of the door, slamming it behind him. Mother sank to the floor, sobs breaking out. Tears started streaming down her face while was crying. Esperanza wanted to comfort her mother, but she feared what she would do if she tried. So, from her place on the stairs, she slowly crept back up into her room, acting as if nothing happened.

Esperanza climbed into bed, pulling the sheets over her head. She slowly let out silent tears. She felt just as sad as her mother about her father leaving. But she held in all her agony, not wanting her mother to hear her. She cried herself to sleep.

* * *

Esperanza came back to the present, gasping. She could feel tears pooling in her eyes once again. This time, she let them fall.

* * *

Amelia found her at the windowsill, two hours later. She shook Esperanza awake.

"Are you okay, Esper?" Amelia looked worried. "You have tear marks on your cheeks. Were you crying?" Esperanza didn't want to answer. But she knew that Amelia wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Yeah, I just…felt sad. I had a flashback about Father leaving." She said, reluctantly.

"Oh. Do you need some comfort?" Amelia asked. But Esperanza knew what she really meant. _Do you want a hug and talk about it?_ And honestly, a hug and conversation was the last thing she needed. She shook her head. _No._

"Okay then. Will you be okay?" She asked again. Esperanza nodded. _Yes._ She didn't want to talk about bad memories.

* * *

The days flew by quickly, Amelia still tried to get Esperanza to talk to her about their father but Esperanza refused to speak about it.

But then, one day, their mother approached Esperanza. She had a cautious look in her eyes and stance. And she was carrying a small wooden chest in her hands.

"Esperanza? I have something for you." She said cautiously, looking at Esperanza to see any changes in her expression. There was only slight shock.

"What is it? A gift?" Esperanza asked. She wondered where and who it came from.

"Yes, you could say that. It's from me. I planned to give to you on your eighteenth birthday." Esperanza was shocked. She completely forgot it was her birthday. Today, she would be considered as an adult. Her mother held out her gift.

"Oh yeah. Thank you. Mother." She said, taking her gift out of her mother's hands. She opened it, inside was a necklace. It was beautiful, more than they could ever imagine affording. "It's beautiful."

"Your father and I," Her mother looked down, regretting her words. "We planned this, we were looking forward to giving it to you. But…" Esperanza immediately felt bad and gave her mother a hug. It surprised her but she embraced her as well. She looked grateful. "Thank you. We wanted to give this to you to mark that you're now an adult. It was planned to give this to the eldest daughter. And that's you." She smiled. "It was passed on generation by generation. My older sister had it and so on. She gave it to me because she didn't have any daughters. Keep it, and if you have a daughter," She winked at Esperanza. She blushed looking down. "Give it to her and tell her what I'm telling you now."

"I will." Esperanza said.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

* * *

A year passed. From the time Mother gave Esperanza the necklace they bonded more and became more like the roles they were. Esperanza finally told Amelia what she and their mother were talking about that one day. Although, still Esperanza never truly forgave her father for what he's done.

Esperanza opened the door, on the doorstep there was an envelope mailed to them. She took it and walked to her windowsill. She sat down and opened the envelope. In it was a picture, of her and the rest of their family, along with…her father.

Esperanza blinked back tears. She didn't know who sent it to them, but she was glad they did. Her father was still alive. She may not forgive him, but she was not heartless. Esperanza whispered, "Thank you."

In just two weeks, she was going to college. She was accepted into one. Esperanza was extremely happy. Her family was the same as well, and they all wished her luck.

Esperanza walked over to a box on the table. She placed the envelope and picture in it. It was her first item in her moving box.

"Goodbye, Father." Esperanza said as she walked out of the door, and into the outside world.

* * *

**A/N:(Platinum) Thanks for reading! Read and Review! (::) (::) (::)**


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